


Drake Floral Designs

by pennysparrow



Category: DCU (Comics), Green Arrow (Comics), Justice Society of America (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Don't copy to another site, Gen, Gotham City - Freeform, Mild Language, Minor Character(s), except it's like canon flower shop?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:20:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26096251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pennysparrow/pseuds/pennysparrow
Summary: Dinah goes to Gotham to clean out her mom's old flower shop and takes Mia with.
Relationships: Mia Dearden & Dinah Lance
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	Drake Floral Designs

Mia narrows her eyes as she watches the buildings blur out the window. The sky is darkening and there’s the rumble of an approaching storm. Not that she comes to Gotham often, they’re not exactly welcome, but it always seems dark and gloomy when she does. Even during the day.

“There a reason we didn’t just use the League teleporter? Or have Zinda pick us up?” Mia asks as the rental car slows for another light.

“Because this is personal and we don’t need to be tying up resources,” Dinah reminds her, glancing over since they were stopped. “Thanks for agreeing to come by the way.”

She shrugs in response, turning back to her window to crane her neck and try to get a glance of the city’s famous gargoyles. She knew better than to look for one of the more famous vigilantes. “I am your floral assistant or whatever the term you made up is. Plus, free mini vacation and you promised to introduce me to more of your friends.”

It makes Dinah chuckle as the first drops of rain hit the windshield. “Ted’s coming to help clean everything out and Babs is having us over for dinner which probably means a bird or two but the exact type of bird is tbd.”

That makes Mia smile, “I texted Tim yesterday when you said we were coming out and he’s supposedly been rearranging all types of schedules.”

“I thought you saw him at the Tower?” Dinah shot a curious look before focusing on the left turn she was trying to make.

“Sometimes? Not lately though.”

Dinah hums and they head towards a bridge taking them from one part of the city to another. Mia keeps a watchful eye on the tall buildings they pass. It’s no wonder the city’s vigilantes were so fond of their grappling guns with heights like this. Like most east coast cities, Gotham was compact but countered its physical footprint by expanding upwards. It was almost dizzying.

“This part of town seems almost… ritzy,” Mia admits, wrinkling her nose at the store fronts filled with designer clothes.

“Yeah, the Fashion District is pretty well to do. It’s mostly shopping but there’s a recent arts community taking over though the apartments are pricey. It’s wedged between the Upper East Side, the Diamond District, and City Hall so it makes sense.”

Mia nods, surprised at exactly how noticeable the wealth gap was here. Though from what Tim told her that’s been changing with how much the Wayne Foundation has been reinvesting in the communities on the North end of the city.

“Your parents lived here?” she can’t help but ask in surprise as they stop at another light.

Dinah laughs. “Oh they very much did not. They lived in Old Gotham; the roundabout way was just genuinely easier this time of day.”

It’s subtle but there’s a definite change to the architecture. It becomes a little older, a little less clean. The streets they drive on now are cramped and the buildings don’t stretch as high into the heavens.

“This Old Gotham?”

“Yup,” Dinah confirms with a grin. “And we’re almost there, one more block.”

The rental car slows in order to turn into an alley next to a slim, three-story brick building. There’s a van already there and Dinah guiltlessly parks it in. Mia flips the hood of her sweatshirt up against the slow but steady rain and climbs from the car.

She follows Dinah back out onto the street and under the low awning on the front of the building. The large windows are covered in faded paper from the inside but still read “Drake Floral Designs”. A large man leans against the brick by the door, collar of his long coat pulled up against the rain. He’s chewing on a toothpick and reading a dampening newspaper as they approach. Mia’s shocked he hasn’t noticed them yet. As they get closer though she realizes that isn’t the case by the way he’s grinning, he just hasn’t acknowledged them.

“Uncle Ted,” Dinah finally says, fishing a key ring out of her own jacket pocket.

“Hey kid, I’d hug ya but I’d rather get out of this rain,” he says in reply.

“Damn cat,” Dinah snorts and shoves her shoulder against the door to get it to swing open.

“Also old joints,” he huffs without losing his grin. He turns to Mia and the grin widens. “Ladies first,” he gestures after Dinah and Mia offers a cautious smile before walking into the dark shop.

There’s the silhouettes of shelves and a counter and the sound of Dinah in a backroom before the lights flip on. A fine layer of dust covers everything but otherwise it looks pretty empty already.

Dinah comes back and tosses her coat on the counter, “Uncle Ted” does the same thing. He grabs Dinah in a tight hug, lifting her off the ground in a spin before setting her down again as they both laugh.

“’S been too long,” he says fondly.

“I know,” Dinah sighs. “C’mere, this is Mia, the fastest draw on the West Coast. Mia, this is Ted Grant, boxer and hero extraordinaire.”

Ted holds out his hand and Mia shakes it, a little in shock. “When you said ‘Ted’ I didn’t think you meant Wildcat,” she hisses to Dinah.

They both laugh and Mia feels her face heat up.

“Dinah’s told me a lot about you, says you’ve got an impressive right hook and even better aim with that bow of yours.”

Mia preens a bit at the praise. “I’m ok.”

Ted laughs as Dinah rolls her eyes. “Well, when we’re done maybe we can see exactly how ‘ok’ you are? Little sparring session? I could give you some pointers?”

Her cheeks hurt, that’s how big her smile gets. “I would love that. Be honored actually. Yes, please. Absolutely.”

“Then how about we get moving on what we came here for,” Dinah teases.

“Boxes are in the back of my van, though it don’t look like ya need ‘em,” Ted says as he glances around the empty shop.

Dinah shakes her head, “The cabinets in the workroom are filled with stuff and it’s new old stock I can still use. It’s all got to be boxed up and mailed out to Star.”

Ted nods. “And what about these?” he points to the shelves.

“The counter stays but everything else can go. You need these for the gym?” Dinah slips her coat back on and jerks her head towards the back, making Mia follow her.

“I could find a use for them,” Ted admits. “Or find someone who can.”

“They’re yours!” Dinah calls, tugging the back door open. “Van unlocked?”

“It’s Gotham, whatta’ya think?”

Mia snorts and Dinah rolls her eyes with a fond smile. She holds out her hands to catch the keys that Ted tosses but Mia intercepts, grabbing them out of the air on instinct.

Ted lets out a low whistle, making Mia smirk. “Show-off,” Dinah mutters without any heat.

~

Dinah and Ted are dusting and then carrying out the sets of shelves to his van as Mia sits on the floor of the workroom in front of one of the two counters. She’s methodically emptying out slim boxes of feathery butterflies from the cabinet into a sturdy cardboard box, listening to Ted and Dinah’s voices float back to her.

“Can’t believe you’re really sellin’ the place,” says Ted.

“I’m not selling it, I need the apartment here, I’m just renting the storefront out,” Dinah sounds robotic, it’s almost the exact same answer she gave Ollie the other day.

“Still. It’s been so long, I figured you never would.”

“It’s time. Besides, I could use the stuff since I reopened Sherwood Florist out in Star. Why have an empty flower shop on one coast when I’m working in a pretty successful one on the other.”

“Hey, I see the logic. Ya just surprised me when you called the other day.”

“I know,” Dinah sounds tired, “but I’m really glad you’re here.”

“Hey,” Ted’s smile is obvious in his voice, “I’d do anything for ya kid, you know that.”

“I do.”

Mia lifts the now full box of butterflies, little birds, picks with various sayings, and an absurd number of decorative ladybugs and carries it to the backdoor. She pokes her head back into the front, watching the door swing shut as they carry the last of the shelves out.

“Hey,” Mia says as soon as Dinah walks back in, grabbing the older woman’s attention, “I found something weird.”

Dinah’s eyebrow lifts. “Define weird. Like, my mom’s secret stash of smoke pellets weird? Or like, box of babies weird?”

Snorting, Mia shakes her head. “Box of babies.” The very first box Mia had pulled out of the cabinet had been filled with tiny plastic babies each on a small wire so they could be stuck in an arrangement or dish garden. She’d had to ask Dinah what to do with them because frankly they creeped her out. Luckily, Dinah agreed and the box of babies were added to the trash bag. “Wait,” Mia pauses, looking behind to where Dinah had been following her, “did _you_ find your mom’s secret stash of smoke pellets?”

Dinah grins, “No, but it’s not out of the realm of possibilities. Now what do you got?”

Mia steps behind the counter again, spreading her arms in gesture at the heavy metal contraption she’d pulled out of the cabinet. “Whatever this is.”

“Oh! Yeah, this is for like crimping metal picks on stems,” Dinah explained, crouching down to get a better look at it.

Mia lifts a brow and shares an incredulous look with Ted.

“Yeah, look,” Dinah hold up a small but ridiculously heavy box of what Mia had assumed were a weird kind of staples. “These are the picks. Wow. I forgot this thing existed.”

“Are ya keeping it?” Ted asks.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s going to cost a fuckton to ship but I’ll box it up. Good work Mia!”

“Thanks,” Mia says slowly, not entirely sure the contraption will be worth the shipping but if it makes Dinah happy. Mia hands her the box she was going to use on the next cabinet and goes to get her own.

She settles on the floor between the back of the first counter and the front of the second, pulling her knees up so she can open the doors. The first is just boxes upon boxes of rubber balloons that she passes to Ted to pack up.

The next two are just filled with cans of spray paint. “Yoooo!” she exclaims. “I don’t think we can ship this.”

Dinah walks over to see what she’s talking about, only to frown. “Yeah, that’s all going to have to be tossed.”

“Unless I take up a new hobby?” Mia suggests with a wry twist to her lips.

“Tagging? Yeah, like Gotham needs more graffiti,” Dinah laughs.

“I’ll write ‘Batman Sucks’ on the Wayne Enterprises parking lot,” Mia offers. “In really big letters.”

Ted laughs, a bright and loud sound that fills the whole space. Dinah’s face twists in a way that says she’s sorely tempted to say yes.

“Ollie would let me,” Mia tries.

It just makes Ted laugh harder. Dinah’s head does a little wiggle as she tilts it from side to side, making her long blonde ponytail swing. “Ollie would also kill both of us if you got caught and he get the inevitable lecture about it,” she points out.

Mia’s heart sinks, though Ted still chuckles.

“Box it up,” Dinah says with finality, making Mia perk up again. “We’ll give it to Babs and if it just so happens to find its way into the hands of some mischievous former and current sidekicks then it’s not really our fault.”

“I knew there was a reason I liked you,” Ted snorts.

Giving a mock salute and wild grin, Mia gets right on that. The spray paint is all carefully packed and labelled to be put in the backseat of the rental car and taken to dinner.

~

The rain stops by late afternoon, though no sun shines through the clouds. They’d packed everything into boxes to be mailed in the morning, if not it went in the trash. Dinah runs their bags up to her apartment on the second floor as Ted analyzes Mia’s fighting stance and the way she threw a punch in the now empty front room.

“What’re you doing ‘bout the cooler?” Ted asks as Dinah walks back in.

“Company comes tomorrow morning to pick it up.”

Ted nods and Mia drops her hands, watching between the two. “So when you heading home?” he asks.

“Not sure,” Dinah shrugs. “Haven’t booked plane tickets yet but probably day after? I promised this one a mini vacation,” she smiles.

“She did,” Mia confirms quickly.

They all laugh, the bright sound echoing in the empty space. Mia had fun all afternoon as they worked and talked, laughed and complained about the classic rock station playing Smells Like Teen Spirit because they all agreed Nirvana was not classic rock. It’d been really nice and her phone buzzing with a text from Tim saying he, Cass, and Steph would all be at the Clocktower for dinner had been the icing on the cake.

“Well,” Ted drawls, “you could come up to New York for a couple days? Stay at the Brownstone. I’m sure Alan would be happy to take you home. Besides, Court’s been complaining that she thought living in the city all summer would be more fun but we’re all a bunch of ‘old farts’ and she’s bored.”

Dinah snorts. “I love that girl. You two,” she turns to Mia with a grin, “would get on like a house on fire.”

Mia’s smile stretches wide. “Well I’m in.”

“Then I’ll let Ma Hunkle know we’re gonna need two guest rooms ready?” Ted looks so excited by the idea.

With a faux defeated sigh, Dinah nods. “Sure. Give us two days but we’ll be there.”

Mia and Ted high five, making Dinah roll her eyes with a grin.

“I’m meeting with some buddies tonight so I’ve got to head out,” Ted holds his arms out and Dinah walks into the hug.

“Thanks again for helping out,” she says into his shoulder.

Ted waves her off and turns to Mia. She rushes into the hug he offers, earning a huff and a laugh at her enthusiasm. “It was great meeting you and thanks for the invite!”

“Not a problem.” Ted pats her back before letting go. “We’ll have a proper fight then and I’ll show ya how to get more weight behind your uppercut.”

“Cool,” Mia breathes.

He throws one last wave over his shoulder as he heads out the shop door to where they moved his van to the curb earlier.

“I’m gonna regret this, aren’t I?” Dinah teases.

“You tell me,” Mia counters. Truthfully, she’s already thinking about dinner and how excited Steph’s going to be by the box of spray paint in the car.

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you who might not know, my mom is an honest to god florist and I literally grew up in a flower shop. This is based entirely on helping her clean out her own cabinets (just chuck old stuff and reorganize, not box up lol) and a crazy rapid reread of the JSA comics. If you wanna talk random DC characters or have questions about flower shops find me on tumblr at [thelittleredheadedmusician](https://thelittleredheadedmusician.tumblr.com/). Seriously, let me help you make your flower shop aus accurate.


End file.
